Charles K. Carter (they/he) is a queer poet and educator from Iowa who currently lives in Oregon. They share their home with their artist husband and their spoiled pets. He enjoys film, yoga, and live music. Melissa Etheridge is their ultimate obsession. Carter has an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. He is a volunteer video curator for Button Poetry. Their poems have been featured in a variety of literary journals and anthologies. Carter is the author of several chapbooks including Salem Revisited from WordTech Editions. His debut full-length collection, Read My Lips, was released in 2022 by David Robert Books. To coincide with the release of their most recent chapbook, Artificial Sweetness (Finishing Line Press), Carter created the video podcast series #SundaySweetChats, which can be found on YouTube. Kelsay Books released his second full-length, If the World Were a Quilt, in late 2023. Their most recent and most vulnerable collection, The God of Loneliness, was released by Rebel Satori Press in 2024. Forthcoming is Follow This Blood to Find a Dead Thing (Fernwood Press, 2025).